Guide to Ditching Cable Part 2 – Streaming Services

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In an effort to save more of our income, my family has decided to ditch our cable. Instead of paying over $200 for cable, internet, and phone – we have decided to cut out the cable and replace it with several streaming services.

Recently, I wrote our first guide to ditching cable which covered the different devices we are planning to use in order to watch these streaming services. Today, I would like to cover the services we are planning to use in order to watch our favorite shows.

The following list covers our initial plan and costs for each service we are signing up for. I am sure these will change overtime, but this is where we are starting.

Netflix (Premium) – $11.99 per month

We have actually had a Netflix subscription for a couple of years now. Our kids enjoy watching shows on Netflix compared to regular cable – which is another reason why we felt cable just wasn’t that important anymore.

Previously, we only had the regular Netflix package that would stream to 2 televisions. We decided to spend the extra couple of bucks every month and upgrade to the premium package that will cover 4 televisions.

Hulu – $7.99 per month

We recently tested out Hulu’s 7-day free trial. We liked it enough to make it part of our new streaming services that will allow us to ditch cable. At less than $8 per month, it seems to be a low cost alternative that will allow us to watch recent shows (other than those on CBS).

Overall, comparing Netflix to Hulu – Netflix is geared more towards streaming shows from past seasons. Whereas Hulu usually just offers the last couple of episodes of shows.

The biggest downside to Hulu seems to be that they don’t offer CBS shows.

Sling TV – $19.99 per month

One of my biggest concerns with ditching our cable was missing out on sports. Not that we watch a ton of sports, but my boys and I like to catch a game every once in a while.

As I started to research options for cutting cable, I came across Sling TV as yet another streaming service provider. What makes Sling TV different than Hulu or Netflix is that they offer traditional cable stations like ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, TNT, and TBS. For $20 a month, we figured it was worth a try to see if Sling TV is a good option for us.

We also took advantage of an offer for a free Roku 2 through Sling TV with a 3-month prepaid offer. After the 3 months is up, if we decide to cancel the service we still get to keep the Roku 2.

As I mentioned in our last post, we prefer the Roku box over Amazon Fire TV Sticks. This new Roku will be used on our television that has our PS4.

Amazon Prime Video

We have been Amazon Prime members for several years in order to get the free shipping benefits. As a family, we do 50% of our shopping now on Amazon and expect to continue that trend.

Not only do Prime members get the shipping benefits, they also get access to Amazon Prime Video. This is yet another streaming service that we have available to watch movies and shows.

I would like to point out that Amazon Prime Video comes in a distant 3rd place for us when comparing it to Netflix and Hulu. That isn’t to say that we don’t use it but if we had to pick between the three options – this one would be the first to get cut.

Since we don’t use this service that much and already have Amazon Prime for free shipping and other benefits, I am not including the price.

Conclusion

While we are not ready to completely cut out television from our lives, we are prepared and excited to ditch our cable. With an estimated $70+ in monthly savings, cheaper streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Sling TV will hopefully provide our family with what we need.

The total for the 3 streaming services per month (excluding Amazon Prime) will cost $39.97. That is much cheaper than our current cable bill.

Our next guide to ditching cable article will cover a cool app we found that can tell you where to watch your favorite shows.

Do you use any of the services listed above? What is your experience with them? Are there other services available that you can recommend?